St Alban, Good Shepherd and Holy Souls RC Churches, Blackburn

11/03/2023

Congratulations Fr Jude on the 50th anniversary of your ordination to the priesthood.

17/09/2022

Dear All

Fr Ephraim just rang me to let me know that FR Fred Heptonstall died last night at Freshfields, Southport.. the residence for the retired Mill Hill Fathers.

His life, from Blackburn to Uganda.. to Kenya.. and finally back to St Alban’s has been a life-time of devotion, faith and dedication to God’s people especially to the poor, the widows and children. We entrust him into God’s mercy and love.

God bless you, Fr Fred, for your inspiration and life of service.
May he rest in Peace. Amen

Fr Jude and Fr Joe and Fr Paul

22/03/2022

Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, 25th March at the request of the Bishops of Ukraine. The 25th March is significant because on the same date in 1984 Pope St. John Paul 2 consecrated the entire world with the special intention of Russia in fulfilment of the request of Our Lady of Fatima. Please say a prayer for peace along with Pope Francis on Friday. Here is the full text of the consecration.

Here is the Vatican text of the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, sent by the Vatican to bishops throughout the world. Pope Francis has invited bishops and the rest of the world to join him when he recites the prayer March 25 in St. Peter's Basilica.

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Basilica of St. Peter
March 25, 2022

O Mary, Mother of God and our mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our mother, you love us and know us: No concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the prince of peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples' dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns.

We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor's keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war, and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the church and for all humanity. By God's gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: "Am I not here, I who am your Mother?" You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: "They have no wine" (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God's peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your sorrowful heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: "Behold your son" (Jn 19:26). In this way, he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: "Behold, your Mother" (Jn 19:27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.

At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The "fiat" that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God's mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the "fiat," on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our "living fountain of hope," water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

04/03/2022

Praying for peace in Ukraine, Fridays during Lent 8pm-9pm at St. Albans.

30/12/2021

Fr. Ephraim sent a video of his parishioners singing Feliz Navidad. Here it is. Enjoy!!

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from St Alban's, Good Shepherd and Holy Souls!!

13/06/2021

All our love, prayers, and congratulations to Fr Joe on this the Golden Anniversary of your Ordination to the Priesthood on 13th of June 1971.

Around £2,000 was raised as a gift by the parishioners of St. Alban's, Good Shepherd and Holy Souls, and Fr. Joe kindly agreed to share it with Fr. Ephraim and Fr. Thomas in South Africa, whose communities have been ravaged by coronavirus.

Celebratory mass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N57XlfDYjBs

22/05/2021

CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND AND WALES Pastoral Letter for Pentecost 2021 It was the decision of the Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland to unite in promoting a Pastoral Letter for Pentecost Sunday which reads as follows: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Solemnity of Pentecost reminds us that everything which exists, every person and the whole of creation, is a gift of “God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” God our loving Father creates and continues to give life to the world through His Word, Jesus Christ, in the power of His Holy Spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church, which we celebrate at Pentecost, is not something separate from Creation. God’s revelation of himself in Creation is inseparable from the revelation of his love for us in Christ and in his desire to live in us through his Holy Spirit. ‘God’s Spirit is always and everywhere “the Lord, the Giver of Life”, and the voice of Pentecost is echoed in the voice of creation being transformed into the glorious liberty of God’s children.’ In this liberty, as God’s children, we call on the Spirit to ‘renew the face of the Earth’, and as his children, we are called, in turn, to use this liberty for the good of creation and for the good of all that brings life. Our world, God’s creation, is a precious gift to us. It is our common home entrusted to each generation. But how have we used that glorious liberty? How do we honour this precious gift? Are we really demonstrating love, care and respect for our common home? As we celebrate Pentecost this year, we are acutely aware of the damage that continues to be inflicted on the Earth, and the repercussions for the well-being of our brothers and sisters, both here in our own countries and, more especially, in the poorest countries of our world. Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have both taught us that everything is interconnected and interdependent. The way we live our everyday lives has an impact on everyone and on the earth. The urgency of the situation, and the enormity of the challenges we face, have spurred us to speak out together this Pentecost Sunday, as bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, about the role that the Catholic Church and our faith must play in our shared care for God’s gift to us. For all too long we have either been ignorant of, or ignored, the systematic exploitation of our planet and the unsustainable consumption of its resources. While accepting the crucial need and demand for energy for the benefit of the poorest of our brothers and sisters, the provision of our energy must, nonetheless, be by means which radically reduce the use of carbon-based fuels.In our political thinking, there must be a new global understanding of our world, where nations recognise our common responsibility for the dignity of all people and their rights to sustainable livelihoods, in authentic freedom. Pope Francis speaks of a global politics that looks beyond our own needs to the needs of all, most especially the poor and the marginalised. But we cannot leave the healing of our common home and the wellbeing and care of our brothers and sisters merely to a response from industry and governments. Our own local concern and action is necessary and has far-reaching consequences. We all have a part to play, each and every one of us, in the routines, choices and decisions of our everyday lives and our aspirations for the future. The actions of parishes, families, schools, and individuals will have a significant impact on our efforts to restore our common home. There are now many resources, freely available, to advise us on our choice of food, saving of water and electricity, suggestions about travel, waste, and re-use. These are measures that everyone can employ, in some degree, with minimal inconvenience and change. They are effective ways in which we can each reaffirm our personal vocation to be stewards of creation. This Pentecost comes at a time of remarkable challenge and opportunity. We are gradually emerging from the tragedies and restrictions of the pandemic. We have the ability to make changes. Our countries are also hosting two most important meetings this year, the G7 in June and COP26 in November. These meetings will gather together men and women who have the power to make defining choices and policies which will help us build back better, provide for our brothers and sisters, and take care of our common home. In all our human endeavours, we need the presence of the Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the Giver of Life”, whose gift to the Church and the world we celebrate again at Pentecost. Let us keep this Feast with that enduring hope that we can begin to repair the damage we have done and provide a healthy home for future generations. Our hope will be strengthened by our prayer. May our constant request be that the Holy Spirit guide us, strengthen our resolve and ‘renew the face of the earth’. I am sure that we will all understand the importance of what the Bishops have addressed to us. Stay with us, Lord, on our journey. Yours devotedly,
+John Arnold Bishop of Salford

05/03/2021

There's a booking system in place for the Easter services. You can get a copy by going to

13/02/2021

Pastoral Letter of the
Right Reverend John Arnold
Bishop of Salford

To be read and circulated on the weekend of 13th/14th February 2021

My dear brothers and sisters,
I certainly had hoped that this letter would not need to be written and that by Lent 2021 we would have returned to free access to our churches which could fill to capacity and have no need for special sanitising and social distancing. I had thought we might be free of face masks and at liberty to talk together as we left church. That is not to be so. It is possible that some restrictions may be lifted during Lent, but some will undoubtedly remain. We must accept the circumstances in which we find ourselves and establish guidelines and encouragement for the Season of Lent, while keeping one another safe.

There is no doubt that the sense of celebrating “Church at Home” has appealed to many people during this past year and borne fruit for a more personal spirituality, without losing the sense of the parish community. If our personal prayer is strengthened during this difficult time, the sense of community can be the stronger as we emerge from lockdown and other restrictions. I remain very grateful for all the initiatives taken to maintain good contact and communication, especially with the housebound and isolated members of our communities.

There are the three signposts for our attention during Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. These are themes for self-examination. Can they be the means for challenging ourselves, particularly in the experience of the Covid-pandemic, for re-setting our priorities, and stimulating action and change?

I am preparing videos to be available during Lent on each of these themes by which I would hope to invite you to review your own personal understanding and response to each one.

Prayer:
I would like to encourage a sense of freedom in prayer. We have, of course, our important formula prayers such as the Our Father and Hail Mary, and all the prayers of our liturgies, but I wonder how free people feel about prayer as a conversation, a chat, with God or with the saints? I wonder, too, how we feel about where we pray? Do we realise that we can effectively pray at home, in the street, at our workplace? Prayer does not have to be in church. We can talk to God in prayer at anytime, anywhere. There are lots of resources online these days, for example Pray as You Go, which can help us to pray on the way to work or when out walking or in a quiet place at home. You can find the website easily enough; PRAY AS YOU GO (www.pray-as-you-go.org)

Fasting:
Fasting has its role in all the major world religions. It promotes a sense of self-discipline and can be a means by which we prepare for prayer or some form of spiritual exercise. In our own context, living as we do in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, we might employ fasting to recognise just how much we have in comparison to so many of our brothers and sisters. Please remember the CAFOD Family Fast Day this year on Friday 26th February. Even if you cannot pick up one of the CAFOD envelopes from church, do please fast in some way and give the money you
save to help CAFOD help others. Once again, the CAFOD website is easy to find; (www.cafod.org.uk) – and you might even want to sign up for this year’s CAFOD Walk for Water initiative.

Almsgiving:
Our understanding of fasting might well help us to be aware of the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor in our world. Even in our advanced technological age we are failing to care for one another, and we see the rich getting richer and the poor poorer. 1% of the world’s population has 50% of the world’s wealth. There can be no justification for that, especially when so many people in that 99% live in abject poverty, dying of starvation. Almsgiving helps us to begin to right this wrong. It is not a matter of us being generous to those in need but beginning to tip the balance in the right direction We need to recognise also that we do not have to look to the distance to acknowledge poverty, it is very evident in the streets of our own cities and towns. In this year dedicated to St. Joseph, I commend to you the work of Caritas Diocese of Salford, known to many of you from your school days as St. Joseph’s Penny. If you can, simply look online for Caritas Salford (www.caritassalford.org.uk)

If you do not have access to the internet, I hope the information about these suggestions will be printed in your parish newsletters or available in church. They are only suggestions – there are many ways of making this Lent holy.

Some of our churches are closed at this time and may remain so for some weeks to come. Ash Wednesday will be celebrated in some of our churches and the ashes will be sprinkled on our heads rather than marked on our foreheads. Careful consideration will be given to the way that we may be able to celebrate Holy Week so please watch for news about your local church. There remains no obligation to attend Mass at this time, but you are welcome to live-stream one of the many Masses being celebrated in the Diocese and beyond. I hope that you will be able to sense the importance of the Season of Lent for yourselves and see how God is at work in your lives, even – and particularly - in these strangest of times.
Lent, of course, means springtime. The new life is beginning to break through the soil all around us. May we, after all these months, prepare to celebrate the new life of Easter.

Lent must be different this year because of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed on our ability to meet together. Let us take the opportunity to consider Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving in a new way and give time to the challenges that these present to each one of us.

And throughout Lent we pray “Stay with us, Lord, on our Journey”.
God bless you all,

+John
Bishop of Salford

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15/01/2021

DIOCESE OF SALFORD
Pastoral Letter of the Right Reverend John Arnold Bishop of Salford
To be read and circulated on the weekend of 16th /17th January 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the first place, I would like to wish you all a Hope-filled, happier and healthier New Year; one in which we may rise to the challenges and opportunities of our response to the pandemic, renewing those Gospel values which will make us more attentive to the
needs of our brothers and sisters, our global family, and care for our common home. I do believe that there are important choices to be considered, in which we will all have our part to play. Today, I am writing to you about two important, and connected, matters.
The final Sunday of this month, January 31st , is dedicated, in this Diocese, to the work of Caritas Diocese of Salford. You may well be familiar with at least some of the wide range of work and projects that are undertaken by Caritas. Its whole focus of activity is the commitment of putting Faith into action by responding to emergencies, helping people to transform their lives and emerge from poverty in all its forms, and advocating change in our society so that everyone may live with dignity, in a sustainable way.
There is much work to be done. While we live in the sixth wealthiest nation, the statistics indicate that all too many people are not included in this prosperity. For example, there are 70-80 people sleeping on the streets in central Manchester every night, while many families are in inadequate and temporary housing, vulnerable to eviction. A recent government survey estimated that over one million people in this country are isolated and alone, even before the pandemic arrived. Isolation and loneliness lead to depression and mental illness. Even the increasing adoption of the real living wage still means that many families, even where the adults are employed, do not have adequate resources to provide healthy food for their children. All too many people are marginalised as if, as Pope Francis says, they have been “thrown away”.

Our Faith has a very practical priority. We are asked to love our neighbours as ourselves and that love must include a constant care for the well-being of others. There should be no need for foodbanks and night shelters but, while ever there is the need, we as Christians must strive to provide them. The Covid pandemic has caused so much more poverty, unemployment, and distress but I believe that we have every good reason to be proud of the work of Caritas and its diverse engagement in the social problems of our times. Caritas has been able, because of your generosity, to continue its services throughout this difficult time. Thank you for all that you have done, by generous giving and volunteering, to make
Caritas all that it is today. I can only ask that this good work is enabled to continue so that no-one is beyond reach and no-one is marginalised or left behind. Your gift in the retiring collection on Caritas Sunday is even more important in these difficult times.​

My second reason for writing to you concerns our preparation for the future. Since my arrival in Salford, in 2014, we have carried out a re-structuring of parishes which has been mainly due to the reduction in the number of priests, and the diminishing of large Catholic communities. Now we must look carefully at the way we must expect our parishes to flourish in the increasing secularisation of the times in which we live.

Given the disruption to parish life over the last year, we have also to consider carefully how best we organise our sacramental programmes and the preparation and celebration of Baptisms, First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation during these days of pandemic. I have asked Fr Paul Daly, the Episcopal Vicar for Formation, to extend his role, both in planning for our immediate needs in sacramental provision and for developing our
various adult formation programmes which will be essential in our “Journey to 2030” when our parishes will need to function in a very different way. Parishes will need to be increasingly reliant on the contribution of their parishioners in many and diverse ways. Fr Paul has agreed to relinquish his role as parish priest so as to be more
available to assist others in developing parish formation. I am very grateful to him for his readiness to undertake this extended role which is initially intended for one year but may be extended according to need. Fr Paul will be working from Cathedral Centre
and visiting parishes.

Despite the advent of vaccines, this time of pandemic will be with us for some time to come. Even with the gloom, anxiety, and frustration of living through these days, I am optimistic that we can set ourselves a new road, with better priorities for our Church
and our nation and our world. I believe that much good can be achieved and we must remain adamant in our prayer, as we ask: “Stay with us, Lord, on our Journey”.

With my best wishes for all that lies ahead in this New Year and my thanks for all that is being achieved through your goodness and generosity.

+John Arnold Bishop of Salford
Tel: 0161 794 2825
bishop@dioceseof salford.org.uk (bishop) [email protected] (secretary)

Further Statement from Bishop John Arnold
We have seen a very sudden and drastic change in the directives concerning the pandemic. One significant concession is that places of worship can stay open – being acknowledged as among the safest places for any indoor gatherings and important for the spiritual and mental well-being of many people. That is a tribute to work of so many stewards and volunteers. However, there are parts of the country, and indeed parts of this Diocese, where the levels of infection are particularly high. Local health authorities have advised extra caution. It is important that parish priests feel confident that a particular church should be open. If any priest feels that it would be better to close a church at the present time, this should be done.
The Government website and the clarifications from the Bishops’ Conference, which are drawn from government and medical experts, are comprehensive but that is not to say that they cover every

08/01/2021

A few Local Authorities, including our own, issued a statement recommending that ‘Communal worship /mass’ should be stopped. They said this with no communication or discussion with our Bishop. At the moment the Government allows us to have mass etc.. I have included a statement from our Bishop John Arnold, his response to the Local Authority. He has thrown the ‘ball’ back into our court, and states that our churches are among the safest
places to visit. He, as I am, are so grateful to our Stewards & the careful way parishioners behave in church that our 3 churches will stay open for mass at this moment. If you have any apprehensions, either as a Steward or parishioner, please stay at home & watch mass from St Alban’s on U-Tube St Albans Blackburn..at any time !! Here is the Bishop-“ One significant concession is that places of worship can stay open – being acknowledged as among the safest
places for any indoor gatherings. That is a tribute to you and your stewards and volunteers. As I write this, there seems to be an effort, on the part of just a small number of local authorities, to impose
closure of churches. They have no authority to insist on this. They might have reason to order the closure of a particular church if it is in breach of the health and safety regulations imposed by lockdown. However, it is important that you feel confident that your church should be open. If you feel that it would be better to close your church at the present time, you are free to do so without asking permission.” Bishop John Arnold. Our Bishop.

I am so glad that we are still able to keep our churches open.. because we truly need to nourish and feed our hearts and souls. In these days which are throwing up all sorts of difficulties for so many, we desperately need a place to meet our God, to feel his closeness and strength.... I am so thankful for the help that allows us to broadcast Sunday mass on U-Tube St Alban’s Blackburn.. mass which can be watched at any time!! I thought you could only
watch mass at 11-15 on Sunday morning !!! .. apparently, you can go on U-Tube and watch it anytime you like! Yes, we need to feed our souls and spirit. It is a ‘Gift’. I am even more grateful for our Stewards who keep us all safe with their care and cleaning. I also realise that if anyone, especially our Stewards, feel that in this latest lockdown they would prefer to watch mass on U-Tube at home, I utterly understand . Our Diocese is encouraging us to stay open for
Mass, but, and a Big But, everyone coming to Church must take all extra care to self-distance, not mix, other than their own ‘bubbles’ & to disperse as soon as we can. If there is any change/instruction from the Diocese, I will let everyone know ASAP. Only come if you are well & you feel safe in our churches.